1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for tape data storage system read/write optimization.
2. Background Art
Competition from various alternative data storage technologies (e.g., magnetic disk, optical disk, etc.) has pushed magnetic tape data storage technology to achieve increasingly higher cartridge data capacities and transfer rates. In order to reach these increasingly higher levels of performance, the technologies employed in tape drives and tape cartridges have grown more complex. Tape drive and tape cartridge operating points have become more aggressive and utilize higher track and linear recording densities, thinner media, etc.
Tape system error rate performances for “read” and “write” operations are a measure of overall drive operational health and as such are affected by virtually all aspects of the system. Tape system error rate performances affect the design choices of drive and media operating points, as well as drive set up and adjustment in manufacturing. Furthermore, error rate is affected by subsequent maintenance issues such as mechanical alignment stability, wear, the affect of accumulated tape media debris within the tape path and operational environmental conditions.
Increasing error rate leads to an increasing number of operational retries. Delays associated with the retries impact overall data handling throughput of the drive and the associated system. An elevated error rate may cause the drive to skip sections of media resulting in decreased storage capacity. Further error rate increases can prevent the drive from processing any data. As the choice of drive operating point utilizes increasingly higher data densities (i.e., track densities and linear densities) the sensitivity of the error rate to all the above listed characteristics typically increases. Other removable storage media (e.g., magnetic disks, optical disks, etc.) can experience similar system performance issues.
Many of the design points of the drive and manufacturing adjustments to the drive are fixed and as such represent a compromise for satisfactory operations (and the associated error rates) over some nominal range of conditions. A tape drive system having changeable design points and adjustments may better optimize a particular operational condition or circumstance the drive was experiencing and provide an opportunity for lower error rates and an accompanying improvement in system performance.
Thus there exists an opportunity and need for an improved tape drive system and method that provides periodic, dynamic adjustment of drive parameters to capitalize upon system operations optimized for drive and for media conditions.